The present invention relates to a conveyor mechanism, and more particularly, to a conveyor mechanism suspended below a boom, for delivering concrete mix to distant elevated points on a construction project.
Disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,935, issued to the present inventor, is a highly useful apparatus for delivering concrete mix to distant, elevated points. That apparatus includes a discharge conveyor suspended below a boom. As preferred therein, the discharge conveyor has a single two-hundred-fifty foot segment that swings with the boom. To provide for discharge of the concrete mix at points short of the extreme end of the discharge conveyor, a side disharge plow that is movable along the discharge conveyor is mounted thereon.
Through experience, it has been discovered that this apparatus has certain limitations. Most importantly, because the discharge conveyor has an unbroken length of two-hundred-fifty feet, obstructions found at some construction projects interfere with the positioning of the discharge conveyor. Since the concrete mix cannot be dropped from great height without separation of the aggregate, the discharge conveyor cannot be simply raised to clear the obstructions. Thus, some points near an obstruction are inaccessible. Also, the apparatus requires a truss support member to prevent lateral bending of the discharge conveyor which adds weight to the apparatus necessitating the use of large cranes. The apparatus also preferably requires the inclusion of a side discharge plow that trasverses the length of the discharge conveyor, and multiple support cables for supporting the discharge conveyor.